Motorcity: Drive

We'd call this a huge waste of time, but you probably have ten minutes.

You've heard of "Where's the beef?" How about where's the game?

That's all we could think about after playing Disney's latest iOS release, Motorcity: Drive, which lasts about 10-20 minutes, give or take. The official description invites players to blast their way through "SIX LEVELS of adrenaline-pumping 3D adventure." We left "SIX LEVELS" in caps just to drive the point home that once this title's done, it's done.

There was so much potential for Motorcity to be good, starting with the cocky hero, Mike Chilton, a futuristic metropolis and a supply of evil robots; Mad Max mixed with Blade Runner, if you will. Imagine how sweet that would have been.

Sadly, this is little more than an empty shell that reminds us of some college project the student couldn't finish on time.

It's basically an on-rails driving/shooting game. The developers keep Chilton's car on a fixed path, and all you have to do is move it left or right to avoid obstacles, using either the gyroscope or a virtual thumb stick, both of which also control the on-screen reticle. As robots appear, you line those suckers up and then unload on them using one of three weapons: rapid fire, a more concentrated blast and scattershot.

You do this through six levels and then it's over. No opportunities to unlock new weapons or customize the vehicle. Even the story drops off. Was Motorcity saved from the maniacal deadly robot lover, Abraham Kane? Will there be more levels via DLC? Disney never answers these questions.

Granted, Motorcity: Drive is free, proving the old saying, "you get what you pay for" is alive and well. On the flip side, this game comes from the same publisher behind the content rich Where's My Water?, and if Disney hopes to run with the big boys of iPhone and iPad development, it'll need to spend more than a day creating its apps.